Chris Christie appoints Jeff Chiesa as interim senator

On the issue of immigration, Chiesa said he is for border security, given his law enforcement background but that he was not yet up to speed on the broader bill.

Christie had said he wanted to move quickly to fill the seat. But given the timing of the special election he set — an Aug. 13 primary followed by the general election on Oct. 16 — the appointment will be relatively short-lived.

Text Size

-

+

reset

Christie’s decision to set the special election this year — as opposed to allowing his appointee to serve through next year, as national Republicans wanted — was based on advice from New Jersey legislative officials who said Christie most likely would have lost a court challenge by waiting. The governor’s team insists the process he laid out follows to the letter the statute for replacing a senator who dies in office.

But it has enraged fellow Republicans, who already viewed Christie with suspicion after he embraced President Barack Obama in the final week of the presidential election after Hurricane Sandy. The special election timeline also infuriated Democrats, who wanted it set for Nov. 5 — the same day as the governor’s reelection vote — to juice turnout on their side and boost their chances of unseating the popular incumbent.

It has set in motion a truncated primary on both sides, with Newark Mayor Cory Booker still the favorite for the Democratic nomination. Booker still hasn’t announced officially, although Rep. Rush Holt has, and Rep. Frank Pallone is expected to.

On the Republican side, Steve Lonegan, Christie’s primary opponent in his 2009 gubernatorial bid, is the first declared candidate. Despite their history, Lonegan has said positive things about Christie’s decision to set the election in October.

Christie has come under fire from national conservatives not just for calling the election this year but also for the $24 million cost, which could have been lowered had he timed the general election for Nov. 5.

Petitions for candidates planning to run for the Senate special election are due Monday at 4 p.m. Booker has started collecting signatures.

Christie pushed back at criticism of his special election dates, saying he was facing a series of “imperfect” options because of “statutory construction, [a] history of an activist court and a limited set of choices.”

What’s more, he said, his thought process was governed by ensuring a primary — something he said wouldn’t have happened had he interpreted the statute to mean a November election.

“Everyone will debate the political effects until we see what they actually are,” he said, at which point they “will be a genius in hindsight, because that’s the way it goes.”